Exercise affects epigenetics of fat storage
Exercise directly affects which genes are expressed or silenced, causing fat cells to function differently, according to a study in PLOS Genetics...
BioNews
In vitro
Latin for 'within the glass'. Refers to experiments performed in a controlled environment like a test tube or culture media, rather than inside a living organism.
223 articles
The dogma that had its day
It is not given to many to overturn a central dogma of scientific faith. But last year, John Gurdon was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for doing it...
Human embryonic stem cell patent challenged
Two US public interest groups have asked a federal appeals court to hear a challenge of a patent over human embryonic stem cells...
IVF sex selection ban is unjustified, says ethicist
A report produced by bioethicists from Keele University has concluded that there is no justifiable basis on which to ban IVF sex selection in the UK....
Remembering Robert Edwards, 1925-2013
Robert Geoffrey Edwards, or 'Bob' as his colleagues and friends knew him, is one of the true giants of the 20th century...
Fat stem cells show promise against brain cancer in lab tests
Stem cells taken from patients' own fat tissue could potentially be used to deliver treatments direct to brain tumours, say scientists after early laboratory tests...
Safety of stem cells supported by mouse study
Tissue derived from induced pluripotent stem cells causes 'limited or no immune response' in mice, a study published in Nature has found...
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
German Brüstle decision puts spotlight on national patent guidelines
In November the case of Brüstle v Greenpeace was remitted to the German Federal High Court. How would a national court interpret the controversial ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union which held that patent rights could not be granted in the EU for the use of any entity 'capable of commencing the process of development of a human being'?...
'Holy grail' results two years on in small cardiac stem cell heart failure trial
Eight heart attack patients given injections of stem cells harvested from their own hearts show significant improvement in their heart function two years after treatment...
What Gurdon and Yamanaka's Nobel Prize means to the stem cell community
It took 50 years for the Nobel committee to acknowledge one of the key developments in biology...